Fire at Zijin copper plant in Bor

The fire broke out at the smelting facility in a gas pipeline between the plant and a sulfuric acid production facility. The Istmedia portal said that the stench of the burning polyester pipes was reported across the town. There were no immediate reports of damages to the copper smelting facility whose construction cost 350 million Euro and was financed from the state budget.  

Extremely high pollution levels have been reported in Bor since the Chinese Zijin company took over the RTB Bor mining and smelting complex in partnership with the Serbian government. The pollution is so high that the local authorities filed criminal charges. Serbian media quoted Zijin employees who said that copper production has been stopped because of the pollution.